The mechanistic (fancy word for how something works) answer to the first question is that it is not reasonable to expect masks used by the general public to be useful in preventing disease transmission. But as scientists, we must check out whether this is actually true. RationalGround.com has put together a lot of the data. Notice that Southern California put in a bunch of mask mandates, and the rate of COVID-19 cases skyrocketed. The simplistic answer would be that masks caused infections. A comparison of the fifty states would suggest the same.
Of course, infections went down later without a change in the mask requirements. Any rational scientist would suggest that this means that masks were irrelevant. RationalGround.com has many other charts that make the same point. Put simply, the mechanistic studies examine something that isn’t important in the transmission of COVID-19, because the bug isn’t spread by that way, and stopping droplets won’t matter.
But what about aerosols? These are the smaller particles that can stay suspended in the air for hours and are probably responsible for most infections. We’re all familiar with them. If you wear a mask and can smell the sample odor, it’s not fitting properly. That’s why I had to be fitted for the alternate N-95 brand at my hospital. Incidentally, there is data that properly fitted and worn N-95s do reduce infections among health-care workers in high-risk environments. But that’s not the issue. We’re asking about the general public.
Of key interest, in one CDC study, 85% of COVID victims report nearly always wearing face masks. One study claiming benefits had to be withdrawn after its conclusions were contradicted by continuing experience. Others have major confounding variables. Mask advocates ignore significant downsides such as reduced personal performance, severe psychosocial consequences, and difficulty breathing. And the Danish Mask Study, a “gold standard” randomized, controlled study, showed no benefit to mask wearing in the general population.
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